Six days of dry-fly fishing and river time across the Wang Chhu, Bumthang and upper Punakha catchments.
Highlights
Wild trout fishing on the Wang Chhu
Mahseer in the upper Mo Chhu
Bumthang river and orchard country
Conservation work with the local fishery
What is included
Licensed fishing guide and national fishing licence
Rod, reel and fly selection arranged to suit the river
Five nights in riverside hotels and one night in a farm stay
All meals and riverside lunches
All permits, SDF and transport
Catch-and-release practice with local fishery staff
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 — Arrival in Paro, on to Thimphu You are met at Paro airport and driven the two hours east to Thimphu, crossing the Chhuzom junction where the Paro and Thimphu rivers meet. The afternoon is for unpacking rods, wading boots and a single-rod permit, and for walking the bank of the Wang Chhu below the capital to learn how the current…
Day 2 — A full day on the Wang Chhu The Wang Chhu below Thimphu is the most reliable of the three catchments and the best place to learn the technique. A licensed guide who fishes this water takes you through a slow morning session, a long lunch, and an afternoon on a different reach. Mahseer here run 6 to 12 pounds; the season's bes…
Day 3 — Over Dochula to Punakha A long but beautiful transfer: three hours climbing to the Dochula Pass at 3,010 metres, where 108 chortens and a small shikhara temple look back at the Thimphu valley, then a two-hour descent to Punakha. You arrive early enough to be on the Mo Chhu riverbank before dusk, wading the braided gravel…
Day 4 — Mo Chhu and Dang Chhu Two rivers meet near Punakha, and they fish very differently: the Mo Chhu slower and deeper, the Dang Chhu faster and boulder-strewn. The day is split between them, with a session on the Mo Chhu through the morning and the afternoon on the Dang Chhu upstream of the confluence. Mahseer of 14 to 18 p…
Day 5 — Fly to the Bumthang headwaters Rather than spend six hours on the road, you fly from the valley to Bathpalathang, the airstrip above the Bumthang valley, with the flight path following the river system you have been fishing. By early afternoon you are on the upper Wang Chhu, where the water runs clear over stone and the fish hol…
Day 6 — Morning session, then home A final short session on the Bumthang river below Jakar Dzong, then an afternoon flight back to Paro to connect with your onward travel. If your schedule allows, the guide will have arranged time in Jakar Dzong's museum of masks and ritual objects before the flight.